Discussion
In reconstructing the flight path of the aircraft from the time it passed over Florence enroute to Washington until it crashed near Florence Army Air Field, it appears likely that return flight was started at 0158 when the airplane was 45 miles northeast of Florence; Assuming a direct flight path to Florence Field, at 0205 , when the message from the flight has intercepted requesting clearance to land at Florence, the aircraft would have been approximately 28 miles from the field. Although there is no conclusive evidence to indicate the reason for returning to Florence, it is assumed that discovery of the fire prompted this action. The flight was no doubt either in or above an overcast at the it turned back to Florence. Since the only information the captain had received concerning the weather immediately north was the Raleigh sequence report which indicated below minimum conditions at that Station, and, since forecast savailable him predicted low ceilings and visibilities throughout that area, he evidently elected to turn south there better weather conditions existed. The nearest field, Lumberton, North Carolina, although it did possess light facilities, was not served by a radio-aid, and would have been difficult to locate. It therefore appears reasonable to assume that, having detected the fire in flight, the captain chose to return to Florence for an emergency landing rather than attempt to locate a nearer field under adverse weather conditions.
It is probable that the pilot had intended to descend to a low altitude in order to be able to land at Florence without delay but there is also a possibility that the severity of the fire had become increasingly apparent and that he intended to make an emergency landing
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